Technique and method which dynamically generates various depth levels of abstracts for text based data sources on demand

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a method for dynamically generating an abstract from a search result abstract retrieved from a search engine. Preferably embodied as a software program, the present invention allows a user to “zoom” in and out of the abstract thereby retrieving greater or lesser details of the abstract to further determine whether the resource is useful or not. Groups of words within the search result abstract are searched for indexable words or key words useful to the user. The indexable words are then displayed to the user. Advantageously, the process of the present invention is performed entirely on the user side without having to reset the abstract level at the server side with a new query.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/559,022, filed Apr. 27, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,484.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention is related to a technique and method for handling theamount of information retrieved from a search request sent to anInternet search engine, particularly wherein the user at the clientcomputer side may dynamically change the depth of information from asearch result abstract.

2. Description of Related Art

The advent of the Internet as an everyday useful tool in gatheringinformation as gained considerable momentum in the past decade. Peopleusing the Internet today can be as diverse as an elementary schoolstudent searching an on-line encyclopedia to complete a homeworkassignment to a scientist looking for the latest articles in their fieldof research. There is so much information available on the Internet butthere is still very little organization to the Internet that sometimesit may seem impossible to find the right information or documents thatyou want without having to wade through a seemingly endless list ofsearch results.

One method of structuring information on the Internet is an index.Indexes allow the user to browse through information which has beenorganized according to categories such as sports, arts, business, etc.,and their corresponding subcategories. One popular index on the Internettoday is Yahoo!®. By selecting a category and/or a subcategory, the userfinally gets to a list of documents and their uniform resource locatorsfor further browsing.

Another popular way of finding information is to use search engineswhich are massive databases that cover huge portions of the Internet.Unlike an index, a search engine does not return the data in categoriesbut as a list of hits which contain, in decreasing order, the user's keyword match. Typically, an Internet search engine returns a result setfor a search query consisting of a URL (uniform resource locator) and atext based abstract of the original resource. Oftentimes, the user isable to control the length of the abstract. For example, HotBot® searchengine at URL http://www.hotbot.com provides the user with a choice ofdisplaying the search results as a list of URLs, the URL with a briefabstract, or a comprehensive abstract.

However, since the abstract has been compiled at the server site, oncethe abstract has been retrieved, there is no way of changing theabstract detail level without issuing a new query specifying a differentlevel of detail in the abstract. Moreover, today's search engines do notprovide the capability which allows a user to “zoom” in or out of anabstract thereby allowing the user to review search results more quicklyand efficiently.

Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it istherefore an object of the present invention to provide a method ofreviewing search results more quickly and efficiently for the Internetuser searching for information.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method ofdynamically controlling the level of information from a list of searchresult abstracts at the client computer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of “zooming” inand out of the abstract wherein the user controls the level of detail tobe displayed in the search result abstract.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part beobvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above and other objects and advantages, which will be apparent toone of skill in the art, are achieved in the present invention which isdirected to, in a first aspect, a method of summarizing a search resultabstract on a client computer comprising the steps of initializingsearch parameters including defining a zoom level to define a searchwindow comprising one or more words within the search result abstract;searching a first word within the search window to determine whether itis an indexable word; and adjusting the search parameters to move thesearch window throughout the search result abstract until a last searchwindow is searched for an indexable word. The method of the first aspectfurther includes the step of displaying all found indexable words of thesearch result abstract. Other initial search parameters which may beinitialized include, but are not limited to, a zoom function, a baseindex value, an offset value; a maximum search window, and a skip value.

In a second aspect, the present invention is directed to a method oflocating indexable words within a search result abstract retrieved froma search engine comprising the steps of assigning a sequential number toeach word of the search result abstract; determining a zoom level;defining a maximum search window based on the zoom level; setting a baseindex at a first word of the search result abstract wherein the baseindex has an initial value of one, the base index being a focal point ofthe maximum search window; searching for an indexable word at the baseindex; searching for an indexable word within the search window when thefirst word at the base index is not an indexable word; setting the baseindex at other words within the search window to establish a subsequentsearch window and searching for indexable words within the subsequentsearch window; and displaying a condensed abstract comprising foundindexable words in the search result abstract. The method may furtherinclude the step of determining whether to fix the base index at a foundindexable word as a basis for the step of setting the base index atother words within a subsequent search window. Preferably, the step ofsearching for indexable words within the search window comprisessearching a number of words to the right and left of the base indexwithin the maximum search window for an indexable word.

In a third aspect, the present invention is directed to a method ofdynamically generating differing levels of detail in a search resultabstract on a user computer comprising the steps of engaging a zoomfunction; determining a zoom level as set by a user of the usercomputer; determining whether a random window flag is set; assigningsequential numbers to each word of the search result abstract; initiallysetting a base index at a first word of the search result abstract;initially setting an offset value as a word at the base index;determining a maximum search window based on a value of the zoom level;determining a skip value based on the zoom level; determining whether afix base index flag is set; searching a first maximum search window foran indexable word at the base index; searching subsequent maximum searchwindows for an indexable word at an index comprising the base index andthe offset value; determining whether the offset value is greater than avalue of the maximum search window wherein if the offset value isgreater than the value of the maximum search window, then setting theindex at a word corresponding to a value of the base index and the skipvalue; determining whether a word at the index is an indexable wordwherein if the word at the index is not an indexable word, thenadjusting the offset value such that another word is at the index;setting the base index to the indexable word at the index when the fixbase index flag is set; and setting the index to the word correspondingto a value of the base index and the skip value when the fix base indexflag has not been set.

Preferably, the step of adjusting the offset value comprises the stepsof picking a random number within the maximum search window having avalue greater than a negative value of the maximum search window andless than a value of the maximum search window when the random windowflag has not been set; determining whether the offset value is equal tozero if the random window flag has not been set; obtaining anotheroffset value by increasing the offset value by one if the offset valueis determined to be equal to zero; determining whether the offset valueis greater than zero if the offset value is not equal to zero; obtaininganother offset value by multiplying the offset value by negative one andadding one if the offset value is greater than zero; and obtaininganother offset value by multiplying the offset value by negative one ifthe offset value is less than zero.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention is directed to an article ofmanufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readableprogram code means embodied therein for causing a computer todynamically summarize a search result abstract, the computer readableprogram code means in the article of manufacture comprising computerreadable program code means for causing a computer to initialize searchparameters including defining a search window comprising one or morewords within the search result abstract; computer readable program codemeans for causing the computer to search the words within the searchwindow for an indexable word; and computer readable program code meansfor causing the computer to adjusting the search parameters to move thesearch window throughout the search result abstract until a last searchwindow is searched for an indexable word.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention is directed to an article ofmanufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readableprogram code means embodied therein for causing a computer to locateindexable words within a search result abstract retrieved from a searchengine, the computer readable program code means in the article ofmanufacture comprising computer readable program code means for causinga computer to assign a sequential number to each word of the searchresult abstract; computer readable program code means for causing thecomputer to determine a zoom level; computer readable program code meansfor causing the computer to define a maximum search window comprisingone or more words based on the zoom level; computer readable programcode means for causing the computer to set a base index at a first wordof the search result abstract wherein the base index has an initialvalue of one, the base index being a focal point of the maximum searchwindow; computer readable program code means for causing the computer tosearch for an indexable word at the base index; computer readableprogram code means for causing the computer to search for an indexableword within the search window when the first word at the base index isnot an indexable word; computer readable program code means for causingthe computer to set the base index at other words to establish asubsequent search window and searching for indexable words within thesubsequent search window; and computer readable program code means forcausing the computer to display indexable words in accordance with thezoom level.

In a sixth aspect, the present invention is directed to an article ofmanufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readableprogram code means embodied therein for causing a computer todynamically generate differing levels of detain in a search resultabstract, the computer readable program code means in the article ofmanufacture comprising: computer readable program code means for causinga computer to engage a zoom function; computer readable program codemeans for causing the computer to determine a zoom level; computerreadable program code means for causing a computer to determine whethera random window flag is set; computer readable program code means forcausing a computer to assign sequential numbers to each word of thesearch result abstract; computer readable program code means for causinga computer to initially set a base index at a first word of the searchresult abstract; computer readable program code means for causing acomputer to initially set an offset value as a word at the base index;computer readable program code means for causing a computer to determinea maximum search window based on a value of the zoom level, the maximumsearch window; computer readable program code means for causing acomputer to determine a skip value based on the zoom level, the skipvalue equal to one less than twice the value of the zoom level; computerreadable program code means for causing a computer to determine whethera fix base index flag is set; computer readable program code means forcausing a computer to search a first maximum search window for anindexable word at the base index; computer readable program code meansfor causing a computer to search subsequent maximum search windows foran indexable word at an index comprising the base index and the offsetvalue; computer readable program code means for causing a computer todetermine whether the offset value is greater than a value of themaximum search window wherein if the offset value is greater than thevalue of the maximum search window, then setting the index [or the baseindex] at a word corresponding to a value of the base index and the skipvalue; computer readable program code means for causing a computer todetermine whether a word at the index is an indexable word wherein ifthe word at the index is not an indexable word, then to adjust theoffset value such that the index is set to another word; computerreadable program code means for causing a computer to set the base indexto the indexable word at the index when the fix base index flag is set;and computer readable program code means for causing a computer to setthe index to the word corresponding to a value of the base index and theskip value when the fix base index flag has not been set.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the invention believed to be novel and the elementscharacteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in theappended claims. The figures are for illustration purposes only and arenot drawn to scale. The invention itself, however, both as toorganization and method of operation, may best be understood byreference to the detailed description which follows taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the program architecture of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the overall method steps of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of finding a nextindexable word in a search window in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of finding a nextindexable word in a search window when a word is not an indexable wordin accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

In describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention,reference will be made herein to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings in which likenumerals refer to like features of the invention. Features of theinvention are not necessarily shown to scale in the drawings.

Generally, the present invention provides the Internet user the abilityto increase or decrease the abstract detail level for a text basedresource retrieved from a list of search engine results at the usercomputer. Preferably, the present invention is embodied as a softwareprogram used in conjunction with a web browser incorporating knownprogram source code or as a plug-in (a file containing data used toalter, enhance, or extend the operation of a parent application).Typical web browser programs including Netscape Navigator® availablefrom Netscape Communications, Inc. or Internet Explorer® available fromMicrosoft, Inc. would support such a plug-in. The program source codeembodying the present invention may be encoded in a tangible media whichcreates the means for causing the computer to perform the various stepsof the present invention.

The software architecture of the present invention is illustrated inFIG. 1. A user sends out a search request via a web browser to a searchengine. The search engine returns a list of search results containing alist of URLs and a very brief abstract. Once the user determines whetherthe search result is of interest, the user engages the presentinvention, preferably embodied as a software program, to “zoom out” ofthe abstract thereby retrieving greater details of the abstract tofurther determine whether the resource is useful or not. This processmay be repeated as long as the “zoom” level satisfies the user's needs.The user is also able to “zoom in” on the abstract to diminish thedetail level. The present invention provides a “zoom” manager as a meansfor enabling the “zooming” function and determining the “zoom” level setby the user. In addition to the “zoom” manager, the present inventionalso provides for a query manager which interfaces with the “zoom”manager, the client computer, and the search engine. Advantageously, theprocess of the present invention is performed entirely on the user sidewithout having to reset the abstract level at the server side with a newquery. The present invention could also be useful as a filter for emailapplications to let users quickly identify the contents of an emailmessage allowing junk email or spam to be easily detected.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the overall method steps of thepresent invention beginning at 200 wherein each word of the abstract isdetermined to be an indexable word or a noise word beginning with thefirst word of the abstract. An indexable word is generally a noun orverb or other key word which would be of interest to the user. A noiseword is typically a non-key word, e.g., pronoun, “to”, “the”, and thelike. A dictionary of indexable words and noise words may beincorporated as a searchable table into the present invention.

A series of zooming parameters must be initialized 210 prior tosearching for indexable words in the abstract. Such parameters include,but are not limited to, a “zoom” level, a maximum search window, arandom window flag, a base index, an offset value, a fix base indexflag, and a skip value. The “zoom” level may have a value of zero orgreater which determines the size of a maximum search window. Themaximum search window has a value which is one less than the “zoom”level representing the maximum number of words within a search windowwhich can be searched for an indexable word. When the present inventionsearches for an indexable word in the abstract, a windowing technique isutilized. For example, if the “zoom” level is 3, the maximum searchwindow has a value of 2, thus, two words to the right and left of theindex are searched for an indexable word. Since noise words areundesirable and will not provide much useful information to the user,another word will be searched for within the maximum window of words.

A random window flag may also be initialized at this juncture that ifengaged a random windowing technique is used to locate another indexableword within the maximum search window when a found word is a noise word.A random number within the maximum search window size may be selectedand the word located at the selected random number is determined to bean indexable word. Thus, the random number will have a value that isgreater than a negative value of the maximum search window and less thanthe value of the maximum search window. A temporary storage table may becreated to keep track of which words have already been searched withinthe maximum window to find indexable words so that a word previouslysearched will not be searched again.

The base index is initially set to a value of 1 relating to the firstword of the abstract as a starting point from which the words in theabstract are searched to find indexable words which may be sought anddisplayed to the user when “zooming” has been engaged and a “zoom” levelgreater than 1 has been chosen. It will be shown that each word in theabstract will be sequentially numbered beginning with the base index. Aseach word of the abstract is searched to determine whether it is anindexable word, the base index is a constantly shifting focal pointwithin the maximum search window until each search window of theabstract has been searched.

An offset value is the maximum number of words to the right and left ofthe base index within the maximum search window with the base indexacting as a focal point within the maximum search window. It isinitially set to zero representing a zero distance from the base indexand can be increased so long as it does not extend outside the maximumsearch window value. The offset value is the number of words away fromthe base index word within the maximum search window determined to beeither a indexable word or a “noise” word. When the word at the baseindex is not an indexable word, the offset value can be adjusted so thatan indexable word may be located within the particular search window.

The fix base index flag is used to indicate which indexable word, theabsolute indexable word or the found indexable word, is used as thebasis from which the next indexable word is found. If the fix base indexflag has been set, the base index is set to the found indexable word asthe basis upon which the next word is located. However, if the fix baseindex flag has not been set, the base index is moved forward by addingthe skip value as a basis for locating the next indexable word.

The skip value is equal to one less than twice the value of the zoomlevel. It is used in determining a new base index when the fix baseindex flag has not been set and when the offset value is zero.

The “zooming” is engaged when selected by the user which in turninitializes the parameters discussed above. The present inventionproceeds to search the first window for an indexable word 220. Forexample, if the zoom level has a value of 2, the maximum search windowis therefore one word to the right and left of the base index.Subsequently, once the first window is searched, it is determinedwhether there are subsequent windows 230 which need to be searched untilthere are no additional windows and the process ends 240. This method ofsearching the maximum search window is illustrated in the flow diagramof FIG. 3 with the process of looking at the next search windowbeginning at 300.

At the beginning of the search abstract, the maximum search window hasonly the word at the base index and the words to the right of the baseindex within the maximum search window. There are no words to the leftof the base index at the beginning of the abstract. In searching thefirst search window, an index is set 310 from the original base indexhaving a value of 1, and adding the value for the offset value,initially set at zero, such that the index is located at the base indexor the first word of the abstract. The offset value is compared 320 tothe value of the maximum search window to determine if the offset valueis greater than the value of the maximum search window. If the offsetvalue is not greater than the value of the maximum search window, and itwill not be greater when searching within that first search window sincethe offset value has an initial value of zero, the word at the index issearched to see if it is an indexable word 330. If the word at the indexis an indexable word, the fix base index flag is considered 340. Whenthe fix base index flag has been engaged at the time the initialparameters were initialized, the base index is then set to the indexableword 360. The word at the index is now the basis for finding the nextindexable word.

Referring back to step 320, if the offset value is greater than thevalue of the maximum search window as in the case of searching windowsoccurring later on as the abstract is searched, the base index is setfrom the current base index and moved in accordance with a skip value350 which was previously initialized and the next window with the newbase index is searched for an indexable word. Likewise, if the fix baseindex flag has not been engaged, the base index is set from the currentbase index moving in accordance with the skip value 350, and the nextwindow is searched.

When the word at the index is not an indexable word, the offset valuemust be adjusted. FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram wherein the maximumwindow representing the maximum searchable range of words in theabstract must be adjusted in order to locate the next indexable word.The process begins at 400 where it is determined whether the randomwindow flag has been set 410. As discussed above, if the random windowflag has been engaged, a random number is selected 470 having a valuebetween a negative value of the maximum window value and a positivevalue of the maximum window so long as the value has not been previouslyused as the base index. This random number becomes the index from whichthe next indexable word is located (see 310).

However, if the random window flag has not been engaged, the offsetvalue is adjusted. First, it is determined whether the offset value hasa value of zero 420. If the offset value has a value of zero as it doeswhen it is initially set, the offset value is increased by 1 so that oneword to the right of the base index may be determined to be an indexableword 440 within the maximum search window. If the offset value does nothave a value of zero, it is determined 430 whether it has a valuegreater than zero. The offset value which does not have a value greaterthan zero, a negative value, is multiplied by −1 and increased by 1 sothat the word to the right of the base index may be determined to be anindexable word 450. The offset value which has a value greater than zerois multiplied by −1 to obtain a negative value so that the word to theleft and before the base index may be determined to be an indexable word460. Once the offset values have been adjusted, the window is againsearched to determine whether the word at the new index is an indexableword.

Once the present invention has searched every maximum search window forindexable words, a display function will display all the indexable wordsselected from the zooming process. Each word that has been found to bean indexable word is marked for display. Noise words will not bedisplayed since they provide little to no information to the user. Onlywhen the user disengages the “zoom” function to review the entireabstract will all words in the search result abstract be displayed.

EXAMPLE #1

A search result initial abstract comprising “Yahoo! Address Book is apowerful online contact manager” is assigned sequential numbers as shownbelow wherein words 4 and 5 are non-indexable noise words:

No. Word 1 Yahoo! 2 Address 3 Book 4 is 5 a 6 powerful 7 online 8contact 9 manager

The method of the present invention analyses the abstract when the userengages the zoom function to initialize the zooming parameters:

Parameters Initial Value zoom level 2 max. search window 1 random windowflag not set fix base index flag set base index 1 offset 0 skip value 3

The index is set at the first word of the abstract, “Yahoo!”, since theindex has a value of 1 comprising a value of the base index (initiallyset at 1) and the offset value (initially set at 0, thus, not greaterthan 1). The first word of the abstract, “Yahoo!” is determined to be anindexable word. When the fix base index flag is set, the base index isset to the first word, “Yahoo!”, found to be an indexable word. “Yahoo!”will then be tagged for display in the condensed abstract.

The base index then jumps to word 4. However, word 4, “is”, is anon-indexable noise word, thus, another indexable word must be selected.The offset value is adjusted by increasing it by 1 to determine whetherword 5, “a”, is an indexable word. Since word 5 is a non-indexable noiseword, the offset value is again adjusted to 1 to determine whether word3 is indexable. Word 3, “Book”, is an indexable word and is tagged fordisplay in the condensed abstract. Note that the maximum search windowwill encompass words 3, 4, and 5.

The base index, at word 3, is moved in accordance with the skip value toword 6, “powerful”. Word 6 being an indexable word is tagged for displayin the condensed abstract. The base index then jumps to word 9,“manager”, and since it is also an indexable word is tagged for displayin the condensed abstract. Since the last word of the abstract is word9, the condensed abstract is displayed as follows:

No. Displayed Word 1 Yahoo! 2 Address 3 Book 6 powerful 7 online 8contact 9 manager

The present invention achieves the objects recited above. The presentmethod and technique allows users to “zoom” in and “zoom” out of a textbased data source to generate a dynamical view of the data in a detaillevel controlled by the user. This allows a user to specify a convenientdepth level in reviewing information particularly useful in Internetsearch results. The user can skim the search engine results moreefficiently by changing the depth level of abstract information. Thepresent invention makes information more manageable and providesfunctionality to users by identifying desired information more quicklygiven the overwhelming breadth of information available through theInternet.

While the present invention has been particularly described, inconjunction with a specific preferred embodiment, it is evident thatmany alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent tothose skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. It istherefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any suchalternatives, modifications and variations as falling within the truescope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A method performed on a computer on a processor of summarizing asearch result abstract on a client computer comprising: Initializingsearch parameters including defining a zoom level to define a searchwindow comprising one or more words within the search result abstract,wherein the search result and the search result abstract were receivedfrom a computer network, wherein the initializing further comprisessetting a base index value, wherein the initializing further comprisessetting the based index at an initial value 1 such the first word of thesearch result abstract within the search video the search window isdetermined to be an indexable word; Searching a first word within thesearch window to determine whether it is an indexable word, wherein thesearching comprises search a word at a base index within the searchwindow to determine whether the word at the base index is an indexableword, wherein if the searching does not locate an indexable word, themethod further comprising: Setting an index at a word within the searchwindow to a value equal to the base index and an offset value within amaximum search window determining whether to set the base index at theword to the index if the word at the index is an indexable word; andadjusting the search parameters to move the search window throughout thesearch result abstract until a last search is searched for an indexableword.